Family’s plea to help poorly Charlie, 5

Sophie Arnold

A HEARTBROKEN family has made an emotional plea for people to donate money to help their little boy get the treatment and support he needs.

Charlie Taylor, from Leigh, was diagnosed with stage four neuroblastoma in August but his family have only recently been able to set up a fundraising page with the charity that is helping them.

We are now fundraising with Maddi’s Butterflies and the support Samantha Allan, the founder, is giving is gratefully appreciated. We really need people to get behind Charlie’s appeal, do fundraising or just donate

Charlotte Marriott

Five-year-old Charlie is currently undergoing chemotherapy as part of a year-long treatment plan.

Just before Christmas, his mum Charlotte Marriott and nan Veronica were told the devastating news that Charlie’s initial five sessions of chemotherapy had not cleared his bone marrow of cancer and he would need at least two more rounds.

Veronica said: “Charlie’s bone marrow wasn’t clear of neuroblastoma after his chemo so he wasn’t able to move on to stem cell aspiration.

“Instead he has had to have more chemo called TVD to try to get rid of the cancer cells. This hurdle has set him back two months in his treatment.

“He has just had the second and hopefully last set of chemo this week - he should have started last week but he was very poorly - after this his bone marrow will be tested again and hopefully he will be able to have his stem cells aspirated.

“We are now fundraising with Maddi’s Butterflies and the support Samantha Allan, the founder, is giving is gratefully appreciated. We really need people to get behind Charlie’s appeal, do fundraising or just donate.

“We have just found out that if Charlie’s bone marrow isn’t clear he will be taken off the trial he is on and won’t be able to have immunotherapy here at Manchester.

“He will have to fit the criteria for another trial where he will receive immunotherapy in either Leeds or Liverpool but we face the prospect that going abroad for this treatment may be his only chance. But this will cost up to £250,000 for his treatment and expenses.”

Despite everything his family were thrilled that Charlie was able to come home for Christmas.

“The joy of waking up with Charlie on Christmas Day was indescribable,” Veronica said.

“But when he came back into hospital after his first set of chemo he had a temperature and he was constantly being sick.

“It was a tense time in. He was dehydrated and they had to get fluids into him as fast as possible Charlie has lost about 2kg in weight and now looks quite thin but he is now back on feeds now so will hopefully regain what he has lost.

“While he was in hospital superheroes came to abseil down the side of it.

“Charlie has only ever seen superheros on his iPad and loved seeing them up close.”